A Victorian builder has found Jetland loading ramps to be the perfect solution for moving its machinery safely across the hilly and steep terrain of the Great Ocean Road
Construction of new residential properties and home renovations on Victoria’s Great Ocean Road present challenges due to the region’s hilly and steep terrain.
Moving machinery on and off building sites can be difficult because of the unstable ground and the unpredictable weather.
Heath Armstrong, one of the partners of building company Sam I Am Building, is no stranger to the tasks involved.
“We have a six-tonne UHI UME-60 excavator that we use for many different jobs such as inserting screw piling and trenching,” he says.
“We also build using structural insulated panels, where a fork attachment lets us lift panels for second-storey levels.
“The excavator is often required on multiple active construction sites. This means that we need to move the excavator between tasks. At other times, the excavator is used on an agricultural property for tasks such as clearing dams.
“In the early days of the business, we hired excavators and this experience taught us what was needed for safe and efficient operation. As the business grew, it made sense to invest in our own excavator and we wanted to ensure we had the best ramps that would give us safety and stability.”
The perfect ramp
The area in which the business works is typically hilly coastal terrain.
“We’re often working on steep slopes. This means that loading and unloading the excavator can be quite tricky at times,” Armstrong says.
“Very steep hills means you have to take many precautions in setting up for loading and unloading.
“Even though the excavator has rubber tracks, which makes it a bit more stable for loading, you still have to take a lot of care in ensuring that the ramps are positioned with care.
“As these were our first ramp purchase, we put in a considerable amount of time and effort into finding out what was available and which ramps would best suit our application.
“We investigated the best types of loading ramps which would suit our purpose and found Jetland loading ramps would be the best solution.
“We were confident in purchasing our Jetland ramps as this supplier had obviously invested heavily in the design and engineering based on global best practice. The ramps are robust and well-constructed.
“We were impressed by their design features and components that give them their outstanding strength, such as the lip that connects to the back of the truck running down through main structure is all in one piece, so it’s stronger and improves the longevity of the ramps.”
Armstrong adds he could not be happier at the choice.
“Jetland ramps are truly awesome in their performance. The ramps are stable during machine loading and unloading and this gives the operator great confidence as far as safety is concerned,” he says.
“The main criteria for selection of loading ramps were their strength, longevity and versatility. The balance between quality and weight of the Jetland ramps is ideal for the machine size, while their 3.9 metre length creates a lower operating angle for high stability throughout the machine loading and unloading operation.
“You can see immediately that the ramps are very well built and do not move when the excavator is coming up and down.
“The ramps are given plenty of use as we currently have three active building sites where the excavator is being moved in and out. The ramps are very stable and there is no movement when the machine is being loaded and unloaded.
“Jetland ramps are sufficiently light to be able to be handled by one person but at the same time they have the strength that we need. It’s also great they have been designed to slide easily onto the tray of the truck that is used for transporting the excavator.”
Armstrong says Jetland ramps gave the ideal balance between rigidity, quality and weight.
“The excavator is used with a flatbed truck and when loading and unloading, the excavator and ramps are very stable and do not move under load,” he says.
“We were also impressed with Jetland Ramps’ 12-month warranty and their free Australia-wide shipping that made our ramp purchase process free of any hassles.”
For further information about the full range of Jetland loading ramps, visit www.jetlandramps.com.au
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